Hinge brackets



Jan. 14, 1969 V H. KRAMER 3,421,355

HINQ-E BRACKETS Filed Oct. 22, 1965 IN VENTOR y k ma k ATTORNEY United States Patent 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A method of fabricating hinge brackets for connecting tubular and like members adapted for swinging movement between substantially right angular and parallel positions with respect to one another from an elongate sheet metal strip with a minimum of scrap, which comprises the steps of blanking out a succession of bracket blanks of general V-shape from a sheet metal strip of width equal to the overall width of the brackets in their flattened-out bracket-blank stage and being characterized by apical portions defined by edges extending generally transversely to the center line of said blanks, during each blanking-out operation forming from the material of each preceding blank which extends along the relatively outer edge of its apical portion a tab on the next succeeding blank and which projects from the relatively inner edge of the apical portion thereof, successively bending said blanks to general U-form and successively bending said tabs substantially at a right angle to the apical portions from which they extend and in direction such that they extend into the spaces between the leg portions of the so-bent blanks.

This invention relates to improvements in hinge bracket manufacture and more particularly to an improved hinge bracket for hingedly connecting two rod or tube members adapted to swing relatively to one another, as well as to a method of producing same and to the bracket blank constituting an intermediate product of said method, the present application for Letters Patent on such improvements being a continuation-in-part of my application Ser. No. 458,148, filed May 24, 1965, now Patent No. 3,310,268, issued Mar. 21, 1967. As illustrated, a hinge bracket as herein proposed will be described as applied to folding cot structure, wherein hinge brackets are employed to hingedly connect the supporting legs of the cot to the frame thereof, usually the side rails of said cot.

Stated broadly, a major object of the invention is the provision of an improved hinge bracket for hingedly connecting two members which are adapted to swing or fold with respect to one another, from or to a setup position to and from a folded or collapsed position, and which is so constructed and arranged that it also serves effectively to brace the one member which partakes of swinging motion with respect to the other when said members are in their setup position.

More particular objects of the invention are the provision of a hinge bracket especially designed and suited for use in folding cot construction, wherein the hinge bracket serves primarily to connect a folding leg to a cot-frame member, but whose construction is such that it also functions as an effective leg brace for the leg which it connects when said leg is extended to its in-use or setup position; the provision of a hinge bracket as aforesaid which incorporates an integral part serving in the setup position of the leg as an effective seat for the member to which it is hingedly connected; and the provision of a hinge bracket as aforesaid which further incorporates integral means which assists in maintaining said leg in its foldedup position with respect to the cot frame, upon said leg having been moved to that position.

Still another important object of the invention is the provision of an improved, simplified and economical method of fabricating hinge brackets as aforesaid from flat strip stock.

Yet another object of the invention is the provision of a novel bracket-blank configuration enabling the production of hinge brackets of the invention from flat strip stock, with an absolute minimum of waste.

The above and other objects and features of advantage of a hinge bracket, the novelly configured hinge bracket and blank for and the method of fabricating same according to the present invention will become apparent from the following specification and accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a broken-away plan view of a partially blanked-out strip illustrative in part of the manner of fabricating hinge brackets of the invention from strip stock and further illustrating the novel configuration of the individual hinge-bracket blanks which enables the production of said hinge brackets with the minimum of waste, all as herein contemplated;

FIG. 2 is a broken-away perspective view of the end portion of a folding cot which illustrates a typical application of hinge brackets of the invention, i.e., in hingedly connecting the supporting legs to the side rails of the frame of a folding cot; 1

FIG. 3 is a vertical section taken through one of the hinge brackets shown in FIG. 2, which depicts its leg connecting and bracing functions;

FIG. 4 is a view corresponding to FIG. 3 but showing the leg folded against the cot side-rail; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a hinge bracket of the invention disassociated from both cot side-rail and cot end-leg.

Referring to the drawings in detail, it will be understood that the partially shown folding cot 10 illustrated in FIG. 2 is exemplary only of various folding or collapsing-type constructions to which hinge brackets of the invention are suited. More particularly, such a typical construction comprises a body frame including two longitudinal side rails 12, 14 and legs 16, 18 acting in concert with other legs (not shown) normally to support said frame in its in-use or setup position. As is generally true for all types of folding cots, said legs are pivotally connected to said side rails for swinging movement to and from a setup position (FIGS. 2 and 3) from and to a folded or collapsed position as in FIG. 4.

According to the invention, each said leg-to-side rail connection is provided by a hinge bracket generally designated 20 and which basically comprises an elongated body portion 22 of U-section corresponding to that of the leg or other part which it is to receive, and parallelly disposed, planar side wings 24, 26 extending forwardly-upwardly from the opposite sides or arms of said body portion. As shown, said body portion is semicylindrical because the leg 16 or 18 which it is adapted to receive has circular section, and it has radius slightly in excess of that of said leg 16 or 18, so that the latter is readily receivable therein. The axial length of said body portion is appreciable so that when the bracket is fitted to the upper end portion of a leg, it will enclose a substantial length portion thereof.

The bracket side wings 24, 26 are spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the external diameter (or other width dimension if noncircular) of a side rail 12, 14 (which diameter or dimension will ordinarly be that of the legs 16, 18), and thus a side rail will be freely receivable between said Wings. The extent of forward-upward extension of the side wings 24, 26 from the top edge of the body portion of the bracket is somewhat greater than the diameter (or width dimension) of a side rail, being determined by the angle of inclination that a leg when extended is to bear to a side rail and by the uppermost ends of said side Wings being capable of forming mounting ears for the rivet which is to pivotally connect the bracket to said side rail. Stated otherwise, said side wings extend forwardly-upwardly beyond the top edge 22a of said bracket body portion 22 a distance such as will establish a predetermined angular relation (approximately 120 in the typical construction shown) between the axis of the side rail reecived between the upper end portions of said side wings and the longitudinal axis of said body portion and the leg associated therewith, when said leg is swung away from the rail to a position such that said rail bears on the top edge of the bracket body portion, and the extension of said wings will also be such as to provide enough area to the respective upper end portions thereof that said portions can serve as mounting ears (designated 24a, 26a) for the cross pin or rivet which is to pivotally connect said bracket to a side rail and which desirably is to pass through the side rail on a horizontal diameter thereof.

As best seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, each said bracket 20 is affixed to the upper end portion of the leg which it serves by one or more rivets (one rivet 28 being shown). Illustratively, said rivet 28 passes through the bracket body portion and leg on a diameter located approximately midway of the axial length of said body portion, but this rivet positioning may be varied. By reference to FIG. 3 in particular, it will be seen that said bracket body portion in its top edge is provided with an integral, inwardly extending tab 30 which extends over the top edge of said leg and thus acts in concert with said rivet 28 in establishing and maintaining the proper vertical position of the bracket with respect to the leg to which it is connected. A cross pin or rivet 32 extending through holes in the aforesaid rail-receiving or mounting ears 24a, 26a (in which the upper portion of said side Wings 24, 26 terminate) serves as a pivot about which the assembled leg and bracket may swing to and from the respective leg positions shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

FIG. in particular illustrates a further advantageous feature of the invention, namely, that of the outwardly projecting, crosswise extending strengthening ribs 34a, 34b and the similarly outwardly projecting upwardlyforwardly inclined strengthening ribs 36a, 36b provided in the body portion 22 and side wing portions 24, 26, respectively, of the bracket. Said ribs and their illustrated disposition are such that they effect substantial strengthening of the bracket as compared to one devoid of such ribs, and accordingly a bracket having such strengthening ribs may be made of lighter gage stock than hitherto considered possible.

Another feature of advantage of the hinge bracket of the invention is that provided by the depressions 38a ,38b sunk into the side wing portions 24a, 24b at locations thereof such that when a leg and its attaching bracket are swung to their folded up or collapsed position against a frame side-rail as in FIG. 4 said depressions move over center with respect to said side rail and thereupon serve to frictionally hold said leg and bracket in that position. Such assumes, which is as intended here, that the inner surfaces of said depressions 38a, 38b are spaced apart a distance slightly less than the external diameter of the side rail.

Reverting to the aforementioned tab 30 formed on the upper-end edge of the semicylindrical body portion 22 of the hinge brackets, such by reference to FIG. 5 preferably has an upwardly concave surface shaped complementally to the under periphery or side of the side rails 12, 14. Thus, rather than seating against a nonconforming and sharp top edge of a leg, each side rail seats against an inbent tab surface that not only has substantial area as compared to said top edge proper but also a surface which conforms to that of the periphery or underside of said rail. FIG. 5 also shows a recess designated 30a in the bottom edge of the body portion 20 of the bracket, as results from the brackets of the invention being blanked out from immediately contiguous areas of continuous strip stock, as will now be briefly described.

Referring to FIG. 1, which in part illustrates the herein proposed method of fashioning the blanks that ultimately form the hinge brackets 20 of the invention from sheetmetal strip stock of uniform width and in part the novel configuration of said blanks by which scrap is reduced to an absolute minimum, the left side of this view depicts in broken lines two bracket blanks in embryo designated B and B contained within the width, and extending fully from side edge to side edge, of a length of strip stock S, whereas the right-hand side of the view depicts a finished blank B severed from the strip and ready to be bent to the final shape of the bracket characterized by an elongated body portion 22 of U-section and parallelly disposed planar side wings 24, 26. It will be noted first that the blanks in embryo (and hence the final blanks also) are roughly V-shaped, that the leg portions proper of the blanks are defined by substantially parallel side edges diverging preferably by an angle of 32 but which may vary within the range of 30 to 40 from the longitudinal center line drawn through the apices of the blanks, that the outer-end edges of said leg portions are in part defined by the side edges of the starting blank, and that the blanks nest edge-to-edge Within one another. By the latter is meant that the width of the leg-defining portions of adjacent blanks which are disposed to the same side of said longitudinal center line in effect abut one another throughout substantially their full length, which is indicated by the relationship of the edge lines a, b and c, d, of which reference letters a and b designate the inneredge lines of the diverging legs of the blank in embryo designated B and reference letters c and d designate the outer-edge lines of the legs of the next adjacent and nesting blank in embryo designated B It will next be noted that neither the outer nor the inner leg edge lines of the leg portions of the adjacent or nesting blanks are continued straightway to form acutely angled apices. Instead, the outer-edge lines of the blanks as they approach one another curve inwardly thence extending transversely across the blank center line, and finally merge into one another. The same is generally true for the inner-edge lines of the blanks, except that said latter edges have substantially lesser length than the outeredge lines, with the result that the inner edges of the leg portions of the blanks begin to curve towards one another much earlier along their lengths than do the outer edge lines. Such in turn results in the apical portions of the blanks being blunted and also in said portions having substantially greater length from their inner to their outer edges than the width of the leg portions of the blanks, such greater length providing the blanks at their blunted or rounded ends with the requisite material for forming the relatively long body portion 22 of the final blanks.

FIG. 1 also shows that the holes 28a, 28b and 32a, 32b provided in the body and wing portions of the final brackets, and which receive the rivets 28 and 32 which secure the brackets to the leg and side rail parts of the cot frame as aforesaid, are disposed along lines paralleling the edge lines defining the legs of the blanks.

FIG. 1 further shows that the length of the leg portions in relation to the length of the relatively long apical portions of the blanks is in general established by the points of intersection of lines extending outwardly at an angle of about 66+ to the blank center line from a point of the blank inner edge also located on said center line with lines paralleling the side edges of the blank leg portions and which extend through each outer leg hole 32a, 32b. Of course, the leg portions will terminate a short distance beyond each said point of intersection but only to provide enough material around said holes as will provide for a secure connection of the bracket side wing portions 24, 26 to the cot side rail.

FIG. 1 also shows that the aforesaid in-bent tab 30 with which each hinge bracket of the invention is provided along the relatively upper edge of its body portion is also formed in embryo as the blanks B and B are successively stamped from the strip S. More particularly, the tabs in embryo are formed in the nature of convex projections extending from the inner-edge lines of the blanks at their center portion, being constituted by material struck out from the rear-edge line portion of the next preceding blank, which of course results in the formation of the aforesaid recess 30a in the bottom edge of the body portion 22 of the final bracket.

Finally, FIG. 1 is intended to illustrate that bracket blanks corresponding to that designated B are capable of production either in a progressive die (not shown) as by moving the strip S through the die or, alternatively, by moving a die progressively along the strip S maintained in fixed position. Thus, in a first stage of die operation, the aforesaid strengthening ribs 34a, 34b, 36a, 36b and the depressions 38a, 38b are formed in the blank. In the next stage, the rivet holes are punched in the blank. In a final stage, an individual bracket blank designated B is struck off from the strip S, and in the same operation the aforesaid tabs 30 may be formed in embryo by striking them out from the material ultimately to form the lower-end edge of the semicylindrical body portion 22 of each next preceding bracket blank. Thus, each bracket blank B as it is formed has a tab projecting from its edge to be the top edge of the elongated body portion of the finally shaped bracket, and a recess 30a in the opposite edge destined to form the bottom end edge of said body portion. Alternatively, the individual bracket blanks B may be blanked out except for the tabs 30 in a next-to-final stage and said tabs formed only when the so-formed blanks are finally severed one from the other. According to such procedure, the tabs in embryo provide connecting webs between the adjacent blanks up to the time of actual tab severance.

The individual blanks B leaving the die may be stored or they may be immediately delivered to bending apparatus which bends them about their longitudinal center lines to their final curvature and shape. This bending operation may also impart the upwardly concave shaping to the tabs 30, or such may be imparted in a separate operation as desired. Alternatively, bending of the blanks as aforesaid may be effected in the same or approximately the same operation as that effecting severance of the blanks from the strip and/or forming of the tabs 30.

It is particularly noteworthy that the bracket blanks B are so configured that scrap is minimal. This follows from the fact that the bracket blanks extend entirely across the starting blank B and, since the rear lines of each preceding bracket blank coincides with the front lines of each next following bracket blank, except for the small areas designated x and y (FIG. 1) which are negligible, the bracket blanks may be formed with the absolute minimum of scrap. Thus, hinge brackets of the invention may be produced in quantity very economically as compared to prior hinge brackets serving similar function.

Analysis of FIGS. 2 and 3 will further show that a hinge-bracket according to the invention serves as a leg brace as well as a leg hinge and thus makes the provision of separate leg-bracing means employed in folding leg construction wholly unnecessary. Also to be observed is that a hinge bracket of the invention incorporates within its own structure effective friction means, i.e., the inward depressions 38a, 38b, capable of securing the leg which it connects in its folded-up position with respect to an associated frame side rail, and thus it constitues a selfcontained structure performing the manifold functions which the ideal hinge bracket could be expected to perform.

As many changes could be made in carrying out the above construction without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. The method of fabricating hinge brackets for pivotally connecting a first tube, rod and like member to a second such member from sheet material with a minimum of scrap, which comprises the steps of providing an elongate strip of sheet material of uniform width throughout which is equal to the maximum width of said brackets in their flattened-out bracket-blank stage,

blanking out from areas of said strip which nest with one another a plurality of identical bracket blanks of general V-shape and thereby having an apical portion and divergent leg portions, of which the leg portions diverge from one another at an angle of 30-40 to a centerline extending through said apical portion and are defined except at their outer-end edge portion by substantially straight parallel edges and at said outer-end edge portions in part by edges comprising portions of the side edges of said strip, and said apical portion is defined by edges which extend generally transversely through said centerline and has substantially greater length as measure along said centerline than the thickness of said leg portions,

during each such blanking out operation forming on the inner edge of the apical portion of each bracketblanks area a tab which projects a short distance into the space between the leg portions thereof and which comprises material struck from the rear edge of the apical portion of each next preceding blank area bending said blanks substantially to U-form thereby disposing said leg portions in parallelism, and bending each said tab to a position such that it projects into the space between said parallel leg portions.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the tabs are formed complete simultaneously with blanking out of the bracket blanks.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the forming of the tabs is effected following blanking out of the bracket blanks proper from the strip, whereby the tabs in embryo provide connecting webs between adjacent blanked-out bracket blanks up to the time of actual tab formation.

4. The method according to claim 1, including the further step of bending the tabs to convex-concave shape.

5. The method according to claim 1, including the further step of providing rib-like formations on the relatively inner faces of the leg portions of each said blank at locations thereof such that they provide frictional bracketto-second member holding means in the final bracket.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,695,117 12/1928 McKee 297-55 2,133,047 10/1938 Sheldon 297-55 876,195 I/ 1908 Kittleson 29-415 1,639,593 8/1927 Dean 29-417 CHARLES W. LANHAM, Primary Examiner. B. J. MUSTAIKIS, Assistant Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R. 72-3 79 

